PM Modi hails India’s ‘historic jump’ in ‘Ease of Doing Business’ ranking, vows to scale greater economic growth

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October 31, 2017

NEW DELHI – Hailing India's significant jump in World Bank's 'ease of doing business' ranking, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday stated that the "historic jump" in the index is the "outcome of all-round and muti-sectoral reform" push of his government.

October 31, 2017

NEW DELHI – Hailing India's significant jump in World Bank's 'ease of doing business' ranking, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday stated that the "historic jump" in the index is the "outcome of all-round and muti-sectoral reform" push of his government.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a tweet, said, "His momentous service and monumental contribution to India can never be forgotten." (PTI File Photo)

In the latest edition of the World Bank's global rankings, India climbed a significant 30 places to rank 100th on the back of a slew of reforms in taxation, licensing, investor protection and bankruptcy resolution. The latest development comes a major boost for the Modi-led government, who has been facing flak for the 'hasty' implementation of the Goods and Services Tax and demonetisation from the Opposition.

Arun Jaitley on India's improved ranking on ease of doing index: Highlights

"Over the last 3 years, we have seen a spirit of positive competition among states towards making business easier. This has been beneficial," PM Modi wrote on Twitter. The Prime Minister further said the time has never been easier to do business in India. "India welcomes the world to explore economic opportunities our nation has to offer!," he said.

    Historic jump in ‘Ease of Doing Business’ rankings is the outcome of the all-round & multi-sectoral reform push of Team India. pic.twitter.com/DhrEcuurgi

    — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) October 31, 2017

PM Modi also stated that easier business environment is leading to "historic" opportunities for our entrepreneurs, particularly MSME sector and bringing more prosperity. "Guided by the Mantra of ‘Reform, Perform & Transform’ we are determined to further improve our rankings and scale greater economic growth," he added.

According to the World Bank, the improvement in the ranking has come on the back of “sustained business reforms” over the last four years. However, the report does not take into account the new indirect tax regime of Goods and Services Tax, which will be a part of the evaluation process from next year. World Bank also said demonetisation was also not reflected in the report as it was not comparable across countries being a one-time event.

Issuing a press statement, Congress communication in-charge Randeep Singh Surjewala pointed out that World Bank's ease of doing business ranking does not take into account the "utterly flawed" implementation of the GST. "It is important to note that these ‘Ease of Doing Business’ rankings does not take into account the utterly flawed implementation of the GST.

The cut-off date for implementing any reforms for the said study was June 1 while the GST was imposed on July 1. Numerous slabs and complex filing requirements meant that GST remained far from the advertised “good and simple tax” and has turned into a “Gabbar Singh Tax," Surjewala said.

"The inherent flaws in the design, architecture and rates of the GST has crippled Micro, Small and Businesses; stunted the economy and has led to insurmountable job losses," the Congress spokesperson added.


Courtesy/Source: Indian Express